1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rolling mill for producing metal sheet having rolls displaceable in the axial direction for control of the cross-sectional shape of rolled sheet in rolling.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A rolling mill, which has rolls displaceable in the axial direction and means for applying roll bending forces at the ends of the rolls, has been proposed by the assignee of the present inventors in U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,646. Such a mill is effective in correcting the shape or improving the sectional profile of rolled sheet. U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,646 describes a six-high rolling mill of which intermediate rolls (i.e. rolls between the work rolls and the backup rolls) are displaceable in the axial direction into a staggered relationship in which they overlap one another by an amount dependent on the width of the sheet and are bent by forces applied to the roll chocks, that is by roll bending forces. In this reference it is also disclosed that addition of a work roll bender to bend the work roll axis is required to improve the shape of the sheet further.
However it is difficult to dispose a plurality of roll benders inside the window of the rolling mill housing without enlarging the size of the window and as a result the roll housing. Accordingly, in practice, there has not yet been found a solution to this problem.